A foot-in-mouth moment has derailed Rodrigo Bentancur’s Tottenham career just when it looked like things were starting to click for him.
The matter has widely been acknowledged as an honest mistake, with Son Heung-min himself having cleared the air and nipped the situation in the bud.
While a wider discussion on the matter is warranted, Bentancur’s manager has come out to reassure him that he and his team are with him.
Ange Postecoglou offers words of support to Rodrigo Bentancur as Tottenham appeal ban
Speaking ahead of his side’s game against Man City, Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou offered words of support for his midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur while the club appeal his seven-game ban.
“It’s disappointing because he’s been great for us this year.
“He’s one of the ones whose football has gone up a level. But we understood this was kind of coming and there was an acceptance from everyone that whatever the sort of penalties were… I fully support the club’s decision to appeal the severity of the ban, but ultimately we know it’s going to be for X number of games.
“We will work with Rodrigo through that and make sure within that time he has all our support in all the right ways so when he is available again he’s ready to go.
“I haven’t spoken to him since it came out. He’s been away with Uruguay and he’s not quite back yet. I’d spoken to him in the lead-up to it. As I said at the time, he understands he has made a mistake, he’s prepared to accept whatever penalty comes his way and we as a club are going to support him.
“The one thing that’s undeniable to me, because I know him, is he’s an outstanding person. He’s an unbelievable team-mate. He’s a person of the upmost character that has made a mistake. I think when that happens our role is to support him in any way we can.”
Postecoglou on Bentancur’s ban, as quoted by Sky Sports.
The Uruguay international has made 15 appearances this season for Spurs, delivering a goal and assists each in that time.
As things stand, Bentancur will be eligible to return to domestic football action after Tottenham host Liverpool next month. He will, however, be eligible to play the Europa League games in the meantime.
Need for better action
Spurs’ appealing Bentancur’s ban is essentially perfunctory at this point, but regardless of the outcome, we can safely declare that this does not solve the underlying issue.
Bentancur’s throw-away comment was problematic, even if he did not mean any harm. Work needs to be done to help players understand why that is an issue. Banning them just primes them to be selective with their words, not help them understand the racial nuances.
